LOS ANGELES — Justin Faulk scored 46 seconds into overtime to give the St. Louis Blues a 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Monday.
Faulk scored on a 2-on-1 from a pass by David Perron.
Faulk had a goal and an assist, and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the Blues (25-20-9).
“It’s good to see him get a goal,” Blues coach Craig Berube said of Faulk, who played a team-high 23:11. “He gets a lot of opportunities now night in and night out to score. Could easily have five, six more goals this year probably, but just a warrior. He just keeps going. He doesn’t stop. Nothing bothers him. He just keeps playing and logging all the minutes and doing a lot of great things for us.”
St. Louis will finish fourth in the Honda West Division and play either the Colorado Avalanche or Vegas Golden Knights in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Los Angeles had been eliminated from playoff contention.
“Obviously, whoever it is, it’s a really good team and we’re going to have to bring our best and be on our game, so we need to focus on ourselves right now,” Blues forward Tyler Bozak said. “Keep building our game, work hard, getting good habits and be ready when that time comes whoever we do play.”
Alex Iafallo scored, Gabirel Vilardi had an assist to extend his point streak to four games, and Calvin Petersen made 17 saves the Kings (21-26-7), who lost their last four home games (0-3-1).
Los Angeles was 9-14-5 at home this season.
“We have work to do,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “Our younger players that have been in the League now for a year or two must show improvement. They have to begin to carry more of the load, offensively, defensively, game management. It’s a must that they graduate and move on to the next level, break through.”
Bozak beat Petersen between the pads with a backhand in the slot to put the Blues ahead 1-0 1:25 into the third period. Faulk had an assist, his 200th in the NHL.
Iafallo scored his 13th goal on a one-timer from Vilardi to tie it 1-1 at 7:35. Vilardi has five points (three goals, two assists) during his streak.
“I’m feeling comfortable right now,” Vilardi said. “I’m playing with two good linemates that both work hard, and I’m able to get the puck so I can make more plays. We’re creating right now offensively.”
Faulk had the best scoring chance for either team through two periods when he hit the post on a shot from the blue line at 17:45 of the second period.
“I think it was more a grind game, which is kind of more suitable for us I think than, you know, back and forth, trading chances off the rush, stuff like that,” Bozak said. “We want to keep building. We want to limit our turnovers. Obviously create a lot of O-zone time. I still think we could get a lot more shots on net, make more plays in the offensive zone that way, but we’ll keep building here moving into the playoffs.”
NOTES: Blues defenseman Jake Walman did not play after testing positive for COVID-19. General manager Doug Armstrong said in a statement it is believed Walman’s test result is a false positive. … Blues defenseman Niko Mikkola did not play because of an upper-body injury and is day to day, Berube said. … With Walman and Mikkola unavailable, Steven Santini had six hits and three shots in 16:29. … Blues defenseman Torey Krug played 20:12 after missing five games with an upper-body injury. … The Blues host the Minnesota Wild and the Kings play at the Avalanche on Wednesday and Thursday to finish the regular season. … Los Angeles won the season series 5-1-2. St. Louis was 3-4-1.
